The Waushara County Board of Supervisors approved a countywide referendum on the Nov. 3rd ballot for the creation of a nonpartisan procedure for the creation of legislative and congressional redistricting plans and maps. The board heard a presentation from Waushara County Fair Maps Coalition Representative Joe Horvath at their regular meeting on Aug. 18th at the Waushara County Courthouse, Wautoma. Following the presentation, Horvath answered questions from the supervisors. Megan Kapp, County Clerk, said the advisory referendum will cost the county approximately $3000.
The board went into closed session to discuss the County Administrators Employment Agreement and after they reconvened, the supervisors voted on a one-year contract extension for Robert Sivick, Waushara County Administrator. Three supervisors voted against the extension including Larry Timm, Jerry Lauer, and Mark Piechowski.
In his monthly report Sivick told the supervisors COVID-19 remains an issue in the county, state and nation. He said gatherings of people, schools opening up, and soon people will be confined more to their homes because of cold weather, may produce a spike in positive cases.
He addressed more employees are telecommuting and the budget crisis are on the forefront. He said the county will have to dip into the cash reserve, to meet the budget expenses. Expenses are rising and the income is going to suffer a bit due to COVID-19. On a positive note he added that the county would be getting a “decent deal” on health insurance. He also said that Winnefox Library system has asked for a 0.2% increase, which is within reason.
Sivick sees no layoffs or furloughs for county employees. He ended by stressing the importance of being counted in the Census. He said that the response has not been what is needed and he will be reaching out to the poor, elderly, Amish and Mennonite communities along with help from Supervisor Mark Kerschner. Every person counted brings approximately $2500 to the county in federal funding each year for the next ten years.
Greg Erickson, Human Services Director, gave his annual report and said they have seen a 12% increase in Clinical Services addressing the struggles of life and mental health needs. The Crisis Response Team caseload included: Mental Health 368; AODA 17, CPS, 31; Youth Justice 14; and APS 48. AODA Program and Prevention had 264 clients, a 10% increase over 2018.
Erickson said in Child Protective Services they had 419 Child Abuse Neglect Cases; 91 referrals, and 9 children placed in homes. Youth Justice had 51 youth; 60 Birth to 3 referrals, and 40 children in the Long Term Support Program, a 29% increase. Economic support saw an average of 4534 adults/children per month in 2019.
He said their department focuses on team building and standing up for others. Supervisor John Jarvis asked Erickson if COVID-19 was responsible for any increases in his department. Erickson said that they have been more involved in the food pantry delivery to villages throughout the county and public health has been involved in contact tracing. He said food delivery started in April and will run till the end of December serving as many as 400 families in each community.
In other business the board passed:
•A motion to add public comment onto the agenda. There was no one requesting to speak before the board on Aug. 18th;
•A Memorandum of Un-derstanding with Marquette County Regarding CLOSE Program Buyout;
•A resolution acknow-ledging the commendable service of Warren W. Brewer as a Waushara County Commission on Aging and ADRC Board Member
•They appointed Bern-adette Krentz, Berlin and Caryn Ruetten, Wild Rose to the Human Services Board for a term of Aug. 18, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2023; and
•Appointed Chris Riley, FSA Alternate to the Land, Water, and Education Committee from August 2020 to April 2023.
The board is also recognizing August 2020 as Child Support Awareness Month and the week of Sept. 21-27 as Diaper Need Awareness Week in Waushara County.
The next meeting of the Waushara County Board of Supervisors will be held on Tuesday, September 15th at 7 p.m. at the Waushara County Courthouse.
